Loose-leaf binder



April 7, 1942. J. SCHADE LOOSE LEAF BINDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 24, 1941 INVENTOR Jazm- Jcmwz TTO EYS April 7, 1942. J. SCHADE LOOSE LEAF BINDER 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed March 24, 1941 INVENTOR JbHN 50.171105 y- ATTO EYS Patented Apr. 7, 1942 1 LOOSE-LEAF BINDER John Schade, Holyoke, Mass, assignor to National Blank Book Company, Holyoke, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 24, 1941, Serial No. 384,857

10 Claims.

This invention relates to loose leaf notebooks. In particular it is concerned with improved mechanism designed to increase the utility of a book by allowing manipulation of the covers and filler pack of loose leaf sheets into an open book form of one fiat pile or into closed book form. It does sired have in each case been lost. No construction known to me in the art at the present time retains the degree of serviceability and utility which distinguishes the notebook of the present disclosure.

The many advantages of my invention in regard to the primary object above mentioned and other related objects will appear in the description of the notebook shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the loose leaf book and filler pack in closed position;

Fig. 2 is a top elevation of the ring structure inserted in the hinge strips of the open covers;

Fig. 3 is a modified form of ring structure insertable in th hinge strips;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an elevation of binder parts in inverted position to show the operation of the hinge strips;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the book opened to a middle page of the filler pack with the covers and pack halves in one fiat pile; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 with the top cover folded underneath th pile.

The loose leaf binder disclosed in the drawings is adapted to operate generally in the following manner. The spaced rings, seen in Fig. 2, may be simultaneously opened to admit the filler sheets and closed to bind them within the covers. When thus boundin, the sheets and book covers may be turned into a single fiat pile, as in Fig. 5. The result is that the book has the principal advantage of simultaneously operating rings combined with the advantage that the covers and filler sheets can be opened up to any page and all arranged in one fiat pile. These combined advantages are not found in loose leaf ring books of the customary type. The combination of means adapted to give such advantages is a main feature of my invention.

The drawings disclose my preferred form of the combination. In this form one set of ring halves I (see Fig. 2) is welded on one stiff wire 2 and the complementary set on another wire 3. These two wires are placed together in parallel contact. They are held together and in bearings provided by the side walls of narrow casing 4. This is mad of sheet metal having side slots 5 to pass the ring halves l, which metal is simply bent down the sides and then under the wires 2 and 3. It should be noted that the wires are of small diameter and the width of the casing is made small with respect to the ring diameter. The assembly of casing and wires therein is preferably made as narrow as practical. .Its cross dimension need only be enough to make a backbone support on which the ring halves are mounted to open and close simultaneously.

To support this ring structure assembly in the book, I provide a hinged flange construction in which the ring halves are threaded through corresponding holes 6 in metal strips 1. Each strip 1 is hung along the inner edge of its corresponding cover 8. It hangs from a hinge pintle 9 (see Fig. I) mounted in the eyes of a hinge plate ID. The latter is conveniently riveted to the margin of its adjacent book cover 8. This hinge construction, as seen in Fig. 2, is made to permit a strip 1 to turn down out of its book cover plane but to prevent its folding back out of the plane on the inside face of the cover. The purpose of this arrangement will be explained later.

One convenient way to hold the rings closed is to turn up the ends of wires 2 and 3 at the ends of the casing 4.. The finger operable clip ll pivoted on one of th wires as shown in Fig. 2 is adapted to hold its adjacent wire in ring closing position. And, in the manner seen in Fig. 1, clip II has a disk ll serving to conceal the ring structure and improve the appearance of the book as a whole. Of course, other means might b used, the one shown being simple and convenient. The rings can be opened or closed by pulling or pushing any one complementary pair of ring halves. The upturned wire ends may also be used to open and close the ring halves and usually with more convenience. In any case the opening or closing of one ring will act through wires 2 and 3 to likewise operate the others and simultaneously.

A simpler form of ring structure is shown in th modification of Fig. 3. It is adapted for use in a less expensive type of notebook. Three complementary pairs of ring halves l with the ends of each end pair having interfitting teeth 20, are provided on two parallel wires 2 and 3', held in narrow casing members 4'. The interfitting teeth when snapped in closed position against unintentional separation serve the same mechanical purpose as the finger-operated clips H in the preferred form of Fig. 2. In this form the wires 2' and 3' may be oval in cross-section and to prevent spraining of the casing members 4' by excessive spreading of the ring halves, stopping means to limit the opening movement are provided by lips 2| on wires 2 and 3' int'ei'fitting with notches 22 in the wire member opposite each lip.

When the book is turned to the position of Fig. 5 or Fig. 6 its covers and contents will arrange themselves in the one flat pile. The back portion [2 being made flexible nough will fold into the position shown. To insure one crease line in the fold, thin paper strips l4 may be pasted on each half of portion [2. Such portion will be thin enough for its fold to add thickness of no consequencein the flatness of the pile. And, as indicated, the adjacent cover margins may be thinned down in their construction to provide a recessed portion and compensate for the folded-back portion I2.

In the flat pile position of Fig. 6 the strip 1 on the open side will be arranged at about 90 to its cover and is there out of the way. The narrow casing 4 holding the wires will be arranged along the edge of the sheet pile I3. Because it is so narrow it does not protrude to any material amount and is substantially along the paper edge. The ready shiftability of said casing to various positions from the edge of one cover all the way over to the edge of the other cover in various book folding operations is important. In any position it supports the rings in orderly fashion ready for their opening and closing. This casing support, as seen, is not fastened to the back portion but is shiftable with respect thereto when the book is folded fiat in one pile with any desired sheet on top.

When the book is opened to or closed from flat position the strips '1 turn about the hinge without interference. At all times they carry the rings and the narrow casing for simultaneous ring operation. Ordinarily such mechanism is fast to and supported by the back portion of the binder case. As I disclose the mechanicalcombination, it is free to move and not interfere with my desired book folding operations. This is broadly the main feature of invention over the prior art.

In the closing operation the strips 1 have an additional advantage of acting as flippers to guide the sheets over the rings. Their inward swing being limited to the plane of the cover, they will act as supporting means for the adjacent pile of sheets being turned to closed position. In Fig. 4 the operation of strips 1 is shown. There the parts are inverted. and the strips remain in the plane of plates [0 since the construction of the hinged flange arrangement provides stops to limit said swinging movement. Soin the book, as seen in Fig. 2,-no separate flipper strips are needed, the strips 7 acting with the covers for the flipper and its other functions.

The book illustrated was drawn from an actual tested embodiment of the invention. That embodiment has one inch inside diameter binder rings. The thickness of the filler pack is also one inch and with this intended maximum of filler the book may be opened at any point and the sheets and covers turned back to form one form.

flat pile. Of course more sheets may be crowded into the rings and the binder will still be workable, but it is obvious that the compactness and flatness of the pile will, in that case, be impaired to the extent to which the rings are overcrowded. The ready foldability to one flat pile form, as illustrated, is remarkably neat for an efficient ring book with so many sheets.

The particular illustration of my preferred form is not intended to limit the invention to that t will be obvious to those skilled in this art that prongs instead of rings may be used and that many other detail changes may be made as compared to the specific form used for illustration.

The invention is pointed out broadly and specifically in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A loose leaf book comprising a pair of covers connected by a flexible back strip, a perforated flipper plate hinged to the inner edge of each cover adapted to turn under but not above the plane of the cover, and a loose leaf structure for holding sheets loosely suspended in the perforations in said flipper plates.

2. A ring binder construction comprising a set of binder rings and mechanism to move them to open or closed positions, strips threaded on said rings to function as flipped strips with the covers in their book closing movements, covers hinged to such strips so as to pivot upwardly to the plane of the strips and then move them bodily in book closing operations, said mechanism, strips, and covers being mutually proportioned so that the covers and their strips may be alternately turned under for the covers to stack flatwise in substantially one pile.

3. A ring binder comprising covers, a hinged flange construction mounted to extend beyond and along the inner edge of each cover, spaced binder rings hung loosely in perforations of adjacent flange constructions, the hinge portions of the latter having stops so as to permit relative turning of each cover to its flange of not more than whereby as the covers are closed the flanges may be in the plane of the covers but either cover may be folded flatwise and under the other cover and any part or all of a pack of loose leaf sheets may be moved on the rings tone in the same fiat pile with both covers.

4. In ring binder book construction the combination of a set of binder rings for loose leaf sheets, a supporting means on which the bottoms of said rings are mounted for support and predetermined spacing, book covers each having a flange construction along its inner edge loosely threaded on said rings like a loose leaf booksheet, the covers being mounted on opposite sides of said supporting means, each flange construction being hinged to its cover for a limited turning movement of substantially 180 between cover and flange, whereby one cover may be turned under said supporting means so as to lie flatwise under the other cover but when turned to close the book will reach the same plane as the flange and move on the rings with the flange in that plane.

5. The combination of a loose leaf metal construction comprising a backbone-like supporting member, a set of loose leaf ring members held thereon in relatively functioning position for a pack of loose leaf sheets. flat hinge means loosely threaded on said rings on each side of the supporting member, the pivots of said hinge means being radially outside of the rings a distance about the same as the cross dimension of said supporting member, covers on opposite sides of said member fastened to said hinge means for support and to turn on said hinge means with their inner edges reaching substantially to the hinge pivots so as to bodily turn from there, said hinge means being constructed to prevent the covers turning beyond the plane of the hinge means in book closing movement and to provide for either cover turning under the plane of its hinging means to extend flatwise against the other cover in a desired open and flat book position.

6. A loose leaf notebook comprising cover members, a flexible connecting back portion, a filler pack of loose leaf sheets, ring halves to bind the pack together and to the covers, and

means to permit turning of the covers and filler sheets on the rings to lie with any filler sheet uppermost with the outside surfaces of the covers in flat contact with each other in one flat pile of cover members and filler sheets as desired, said means consisting of a thin metal casing, wires enclosed in parallel relationship in the casing with the ring halves fastened to said wires and projecting from each side of the casing, said ring halves meeting and forming circular binding rings, said wires at each end of the casing extending angularly therefrom and bent to receive finger clips whereby the ring halves are held together against separation, clips snapped on said extensions, and said rings having hinged strips threaded thereon enclosing the binding margins of the filler pack between them, hinges connecting said strips to the inner margins of the cover members, said strips being limited in their outward swing to a position in the plane of the adjacent cover, and outside surfaces of said covers being recessed along their inner marginal portions to receive the back portion when folded on itself between the covers, said back portion being provided with strips of stiffening paper on each half to lie in one flat fold between the covers.

7. A cover unit for a filler pack of loose leaf sheets threaded on ring halves having a casing joining the ring halves together in strip form and adapted to allow separation of the halves for insertion and removal of single sheets, said unit comprising two cover members and a flexible back portion, each cover along its binding margin having a perforated binding strip hinged thereto, said strips having a swing inwardly of 180 and having the outward swing limited to the plane of the adjacent cover, said strips being adapted to thread on the binding rings and permit the covers to lie with their outside surfaces in flat contact with each other and in a single pile with the pack of filler sheets.

8. A loose leaf book binder adapted to fold with its covers in a single flat pile with a pack of filler sheets, the binder comprising in combination only two covers, a stiff flange hinged at one side along the inner edge of each cover, such flange having perforations along its free side beyond such edge, loose leaf mechanism including spaced prongs with means to simultaneously open and close the same to retain and release filler sheets, said prongs being threaded through only the perforations in said flange along each inner edge of each cover whereby said mechanism is supported by hanging from and adjacent opposite inner edges of the covers.

9. A loose leaf book binder adapted to fold with its covers in a single flat pile with a pack of filler sheets, the binder comprising in combination only two covers, a stiff flange hinged at one side along the inner edge of each cover, such flange having perforations along its free side beyond such edge, said flanges being hinged to turn under but not above the plane of the covers, loose leaf mechanism including spaced prongs with means to open and close the same to retain and release filler sheets, said prongs being threaded through only the perforations in said flange along each inner edge of each cover whereby said mechanism is supported by hanging from and adjacent opposite inner edges of the covers.

10. A loose leaf book binder adapted to fold with its covers in a single flat pile with a pack of filler sheets, the binder comprising in combination two covers, a stiff flange hinged along the inner edge of each cover, such flange having perforations therein beyond such edge, and including a flexible back portion also hinged at the inner edges of the covers and adapted to fold into a single flat fold with the covers and their filler sheets, loose leaf mechanism including spaced prongs with means to simultaneously open and close the same to retain and release filler sheets, said prongs being threaded through the perforations in said flange along each inner edge of each cover whereby said mechanism is supported by hanging from and adjacent opposite inner edges of the covers.

JOHN SCI-IADE. 

